Solar and natural lifestyle

eBook- now solar powered

Maati — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 12:52:06 +0000

Well, eBooks are not to be another one of those energy guzzling gadgets anymore.

I love to read books and loves the smell of paper and holding that book in my hands. At the same time, there are times when I wish I had a particular book in hand or could immediately start reading a book as soon as I see it online.

There are times when I want to share or mark stuff- and those things are not easy in the paper books.

Ah if only eBooks were not this energy guzzling electricity (rechargable) battery operated devices.

Well there is Hope.

Enjoy

Shalabh Pandey (@shalabhpandey on twitter)

Maati (@maati on twitter)

LG made some advancements and has announced the launch of a prototype for a solar eBook reader.

And no it will presumably not be bulky or heavy.

As reported here:

The thin-film solar cell featured in the e-book measures 10 centimeters in width and length, it was developed to perfectly fit the 6-inch display panel for e-book currently mass produced by LG Display. The solar cell measures 0.7 millimeter in thickness and weighs a mere 20 grams, the less thickness of a credit card and the weight of a fountain pen.

A bit of a downer, in my opinion, is the charging time and battery life. You need to charge for 5 hours for a full days reading. But LG says it is going to be more efficient as technology progresses. Optimism also shared at Wired by Charlie Shorrel

Small Businesses for Green Business Practices

Maati — Sun, 20 Sep 2009 08:53:38 +0000

Green Business Practices

View more documents from Melvin Pereira.

A great presentation pulled from slideshare- on Green Business Practices- and how they actually help businesses rather than take an altruistic route.

Enjoy!

(twitter: @maati)

Carbon Footprints can be measured on the web

Maati — Sun, 13 Sep 2009 09:38:46 +0000

A growing number of people these days are debating whether to buy a hybrid car, use public transportation or ride a bike to work. Those decisions leave behind what is called a person’s “carbon footprint”. Producer Zulima Palacio looks into our carbon footprint and offers suggestions on how to reduce it. Mil Arcega narrates- courtsey VOAVideo:

Cool, Eco friendly and Stackable. It’s a refrigerator! Duh!

Maati — Sat, 05 Sep 2009 15:59:37 +0000

Saw this amazing looking piece of machinery on designsprout.

A stackable fridge! The idea apparently started with the need to have your own refrigerator space (!) for people who stay in hostels or share a fridge with roommates.

We think the idea is immensely scalable and soon every family will need one. Of course, even in one family, people have different cars, different handphones, different TVs! So one refrigerator but with different stacks is just what the doc ordered.

But the killer concept is that it would save such a lot of energy- just by grouping the refrigerated products. Use only the stack that is needed- keeping the rest stacks cooler and not letting cool air escape.

Flatshare Fridge is a design concept by Stefan Buchberger, a design student at the University of Applied Arts in Vienna.

We leave you with some cool photos

Cool.Eh? More details at Toxel and Inhabitat.

twitter.com/maati

Green is not just good for the environment but also for the economy

Maati — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 09:18:21 +0000

Recently the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency gathered together scientists, investors and industry to show off what they say are key innovative technologies in the environmental effort. VOA producer Zulima Palacio prepared the story. Jeff Swicord narrates- and Maati shares the video with all of you readers:

Solar powered headphones

Maati — Sun, 16 Aug 2009 08:58:30 +0000

Like the ’sound’ of it? While the pun was fully intentional, this report on Unusual Headphones features a solar powered headphone that we could not resist showing.

Solar headphones

What’s cool is the performance. Reportably it could fire up almost 2.67 hours of power at full blast volume just by being 1 hour in the sunlight.

The Q-SOUND headphones would not only allow you to listen to music via any Bluetooth-enabled digital audio player, but also would let you take calls on any Bluetooth-enabled cell phone. If your player doesn’t support Bluetooth there is also a 3.5mm jack to allow for a wired connection. The headband is constructed of flexible plastic incorporating amorphous silicon solar cells, while each rubber-based earpiece can be adjusted to fit differently shaped and sized heads.

Keep the heat out and the cool in- with Solar Window shades

Maati — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 14:12:32 +0000

This is a promotional video by a company that manufactures solar shades. But what the heck- we are featuring it here on Maati- coz its solar and it’s something to do with natural lifestyle.

This video shows how thermal mass windows keep cool with solar shades installed. These solar shades are being developed to compliment the thermal mass windows, but have a much wider appeal to any home that experiences large solar gains during the summer.

The Maati Shop- Click to view the new products in Natural Lifestyle

Maati — Mon, 15 Sep 2008 03:41:03 +0000

The Handpicked Items Maati shop is located here- the items here are mostly handpicked.
However, with popular demand from some of our users, here is a link to the Comprehensive Maati Store There is a wide variety, and you need to browse through. just browse and click on any item you like and you’ll be taken on to the world’s most favorite online shopping destination -Amazon.
Please remember- you can always go to the main Maati shop here or just click on any item. Enjoy!

Worms in your food plate?

Maati — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 11:45:29 +0000

Maati encourages debate on natural products- we had a section on the site called videos and debates, and since it is much easier and felexible managing these files on a blog using third party platforms, we will surely try to shift the action here.

In this video, for example, they detail one ‘cons’ of organic foods- insects and bugs! The reporter made this story look like “If you eat organic stuff, be ready to eat insects, bugs and even traces of mud”

One lady explains that they would not wash organic veggies properly because those food products are prone to much more breakage than regular stuff. Though we did not quite understand the logic, here is the video for your viewing and discussion:

While Maati thinks this is more sensational and substantial- you are your own judge- just in case you feel like trying a basket of organic greens, you can always use the Maati Shop

Sexy and sustainable- swimming pools you can drink from!

Maati — Sun, 07 Sep 2008 10:52:50 +0000

Everyone needs a bath *after* having been in the pool. Now, *before* entering a pool is good protocol, but ever wondered why is it so important to have a proper bath *after* having a proper swim in the pool? the answer is- chemicals! Chlorine and other chemicals in the swimming pool- introduced to the pool to prevent diseases and keep the water germ free, actually can tuen harmful more to some less to others- but harmful none the less- the effects of chlorine on hair for example- are not a secret to anyone.
Apart from chemicals, pools are a huge drainage to energy- they require shitloads of energy for their upkeep- and we at editorial team can bet our monthly basket of organic groceries- you will not feel like entering a pool if it is not kept for as less as a week. Any more than that, without upkeep- it can even become dangerous!

So while swimming is a fun activity and a great way to exercise or relax, it does increase our reliance on chemicals. So what next?

Here is a solution- a clean fun and sustainable solution- and since Maati is all about sustainability and chemical free living, we are covering this story from the daily green. They do emphasize some problems that come with prolonged exposure to swimming pool chemicals like hair problems, asthama and wheezing in infants, and even this: “In an unpleasant reaction, pee and sweat in water can react with chlorine to form toxic breakdown products known as chloramines. ”
Sure you don’t pee in the pool- but hello! just look at that kid next to you in then pool- he suddenly took a break from screaming and jumping around with his friends and his face squealed. Hang on! He looks more relieved now. Could it be…?
Well jokes apart- some really sexy pools here- we took some pitcures from the slideshow on the site: